Multifunctional nanocomposites

Funding from Korean agency supports research in nanocomposites

9:43 a.m., Oct. 7, 2013--Tsu-Wei Chou, Pierre S. du Pont Chair of Engineering at the University of Delaware, has received funding from the National Research Foundation of Korea to support research in advanced hybrid nano- and micro-composites for structural and multifunctional applications.

Chou is collaborating with Byung-Sun Kim and Joon-Hyung Byun of the Korea Institute of Materials Science on the nine-year project, which is now in its third phase.

The American Chemical Society is highlighting the legacy of the late Nobel laureate Richard Heck, the Willis F. Harrington Professor Emeritus of Chemistry at the University of Delaware with a digital tribute on its publications website.

The Phase III research goal is to conduct fundamental studies of nano-carbon-based multiscale hybrids for multifunctional composites and energy storage devices.

The Phase I research focused on the use of dispersed carbon nanotubes (CNTs) in a matrix material for reinforcement and damage sensing of composites. In Phase II, the researchers turned their attention to carbon nanotube-based continuous fibers.

“The potential to translate the superb mechanical and physical properties of individual carbon nanotubes at the nano-scale to the micro and macro scales of continuous fibers is indeed fascinating,” Chou says. “The use of CNTs in a continuous form would enable the adaptation of many well-developed composites processing, characterization, and modeling methodologies.”

“Research funded by this program has resulted in the development of a more comprehensive knowledge base and identification of the key factors affecting the electromechanical behavior of CNT fibers,” he adds.

The grant was provided through the Korean Ministration for Education, Science and Technology under the agency’s Global Research Laboratory, which is aimed at developing fundamental and original technologies through international collaborative research between Korean and foreign laboratories.